LOS ANGELES -- The Juan Soto the New York Mets expected when they gave him the richest contract in sports history finally appeared in his purest form Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium by stealing the show without even putting the ball in play.
Twice, in his second and third plate appearances, Soto engaged in theatrical seven-pitch battles with Dodgers right-hander Tony Gonsolin. And twice he won with enthralling walks, commanding attention as much between pitches as during the action.
He flashed smiles waiting for Gonsolin's pitches, after taking pitches, and after cracking a line drive just foul down the right-field line. He nodded and he shook his head. He backpedaled and he high-stepped. He strutted his hips and he Soto Shuffled. By the end, after checking a swing to take his second walk and daring Gonsolin to throw over to first base, he and Gonsolin were jawing at each other.
He was loose. He was confident. He was finally Juan Soto, the showman.
"It's Juan Soto being Juan Soto," Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said.
That Juan Soto was absent during his first two months with the Mets as he failed to perform to his lofty standards. Various underlying metrics -- expected batting average, expected slugging percentage, hard-hit percentage, chase rate, among others -- suggest he was a victim of misfortune, but results are results. And the results -- a .224 batting average and .745 OPS through May 28 -- were disappointing for a superstar in his age-26 season.
"Soto's been Soto for us," Mets co-hitting coach Jeremy Barnes said. "He just hasn't had the batted ball luck to go with it. And he's been aware of that."
Beyond the production, Soto's demeanor over the season's first two months was notably different from his usual comportment. He has drawn external criticism more than once for a lack of hustle, and his trademark flair in the batter's box has rarely been on display. His interactions with teammates have been dissected and analyzed. His body language has been placed under a microscope. He's heard boos. The noise has been constant.
Before Wednesday's game, a 6-1 Mets win, Soto, who is playing on his fourth team in four seasons, admitted adapting to his new organization and the weight of a $765 million contract has been a challenge.
"I still need a little more time, but little by little it's been getting better," Soto told ESPN in Spanish, when asked about feeling 100% himself amid all of the changes and additional pressure. "I've been feeling more comfortable."
Behind the scenes, Soto said he's leaned on Mendoza as he adjusts to his surroundings. The two "talk a lot," Soto said, with a level of transparency he called important.
Mendoza said their talks are almost never about what's happening on the field. The topics range from family to their home countries (Soto is from the Dominican Republic and Mendoza hails from Venezuela) to their previous experiences in the sport.
They chat periodically -- once a week or biweekly -- when Mendoza senses the moment is right. It's an approach Mendoza said he takes with all of his players, especially ones new to the organization. The effort has resonated with Soto.
"We have good conversations that, at the end of the day, help me feel better acclimated to the team," Soto said.
Last Friday, before New York opened a three-game set against the historically abysmal Colorado Rockies, Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns emphasized Soto's work behind the scenes was not an issue. He said he did not see an issue Soto needed to repair. But he acknowledged Soto is "trying to do a little bit too much right now."
"He certainly wants results at a higher level than what we've seen so far," Stearns said. "I'm pretty confident we're going to get those. But I also understand it is natural when a player signs a big contract -- and this was a really big contract -- if the results aren't immediate, there are going to be questions and there are going to be reactions. And I completely get that. And I think Juan does too."
Soto went 2-for-4 with a double and a stolen base in a win that night to begin a week of encouraging production. The sample size is miniscule, but Soto has recorded six hits, eight walks and just two strikeouts -- adding up to a .484 on-base percentage -- over his last seven games against the Rockies and Dodgers.
Before Wednesday -- when he went 0-for-1 with three walks and an RBI -- he had clubbed three home runs in four games and recorded extra-base hits in five consecutive contests by being more aggressive on pitches in the strike zone -- he swung at only 53% of pitches in the zone in May -- while continuing to hit the ball hard.
Soto has posted similar mini stretches this season, displaying flashes of the talent that had franchises bidding astronomical amounts of money for his services. But he's expected to sustain an elite output.
He went hitless with two walks in Thursday's series finale in Los Angeles -- a 6-5 loss for the Mets -- and is still batting just .229 with a .797 OPS, 11 home runs and a league-leading 50 walks in 62 games this season. The numbers pale in comparison to the .285 batting average and .953 OPS he registered over his first seven seasons.
"It's a little difficult because it's frustrating not seeing the results in what you're doing," Soto said. "It's uncomfortable. You try to help the team as much as you can. But I have a good routine. I have confidence in it, and I know I've done it for all these years, all these days, so I have plenty of confidence in it to get the results I want."
Mets starter Clay Holmes witnessed Soto produce the results he wanted last season as his teammate on the New York Yankees. Soto mashed a career-high 41 home runs with a .989 OPS in his platform year, finishing third in American League MVP voting and collaborating with Aaron Judge to create the most dangerous one-two punch in the majors as the Yankees advanced to the World Series.
"I still feel like I'm still watching the same guy," Holmes said. "I don't feel like something's just crazy off. Looks like the same guy to me."
On Wednesday, Scott Boras, the man who negotiated Soto's record-smashing contract, called Soto's return to Yankee Stadium in mid-May -- when he received relentless boos and vulgar chants over a three-game series -- a "hurdle" in his acclimation process. "It was the first time he got to see a lot of his old teammates and they accomplished a lot together."
"It's psychological," Boras said of the transition. "It's different. You're treated differently because of your contract status. Everybody's aware, and you kind of want it to be how it was, not how it is. And you have to learn the 'is' part, and it's a new part of the process."
A few hours later, Boras watched vintage Juan Soto resurface from his front-row seat behind home plate at Dodger Stadium. The Mets hope it was just the start.
"Little by little," Soto said.
